SAS photos taken off Street View

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An MP is the latest to complain about security issues raised by Google's Street View, but the LibDem isn't worried about being burgled so much as national security.

Liberal Democrat MP Paul Keetch claimed he reported photos of the SAS base at Credenhill to Google to be removed, with other reports suggesting some Street View images were in breach of the Official Secrets Act.

Street View includes a reporting system to make such requests, and photos of one entrance to the base have been taken down.

Keetch told the BBC: "If you are a terrorist and you can get a detailed photo of a military installation for free online, that's bound to encourage you to think maybe I can break in there."

"The question is 'is Google acting responsibly?' and I don't think they are," he added. "I think Google want to have their own policy of not showing military installations anywhere."

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told IT PRO that to his knowledge the ministry hadn't asked Google to take down any photos.

"The MoD cannot prevent satellites taking imagery of its establishments however we ensure that steps are taken to protect highly sensitive equipment. It would be impractical to ask Google to withdraw images as they can be easily obtained from other sources over which we have no influence," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Satellite photos of the base and street level photos of one entrance are still available.

Google has always stressed that the photos for Street View are only taken from public roads. “Google Street View is only made up of images from public roads and so it's to be expected that buildings that anyone can see walking down the street may appear," a spokesman told IT PRO.

“Our drivers are trained not to take photographs where this is prohibited by law, but if mistakes are made we will act quickly to remove the images," it added. “We're unaware of any official concerns being raised about security, but are of course happy to discuss any issues as they arise.”

Google Street View has been the subject of renewed controversy since it released photos taken from most UK roads earlier this month.

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